The NLMS is a multi-year project developed as a collaborative effort between the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Aging, the National Center for Health Statistics, and the Bureau of the Census. The overall project will be overseen and directed by a Steering Committee composed of funding contributors and the Bureau of the Census. Each sponsor will adhere to the data, research and operational policies and priorities as established by the Steering Committee. The NIA will share the primary responsibility with the other sponsoring agencies for providing the overall direction to the study, design and format of the linked data set, and determining the topics and methods for conducting analytic research using the linked data. The Bureau of the Census will serve as the data custodian for the NLMS database which includes the Current Population Survey (CPS), the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) and Census sample data. The Bureau of the Census will be responsible for database development, the processing of data, developing protocols to conduct matches to CMS Medicare and to the National Death Index data, coordinating linked database development activities, providing analytical support, producing technical documentation for all sponsors and collaborators, and preparing and distributing public use versions of data approved for release.